Gouldian Foot Deformity

[MiaCarter]

Meet Sydney.

lovezebs , our instincts were correct.

Our latest gouldian baby does have a limb difference:



It would appear that very early in life, her backwards-facing toe was broken.
It healed improperly and now faces forward, so essentially, she cannot grasp anything with her right foot.

The outermost toe tends to curl under the others as she's putting her weight on the outside edge of the foot. But that toe is actually normal. It's just the backwards facing toe.

The foot is all there, so I suspect this is an injury vs. a deformity.
It is fully healed, so it must have occurred quite early on.

I looked for an obvious deformity the other day, but it wasn't apparent to me. The appearance varies according to where and how she's standing. I really started to suspect a problem, though, as she has been quite late fledging and she had the odd habit of standing inside the nest.

She is perching, though and she's using the deformed foot as a "helper foot" for balance. She's sitting low on the perch, so I imagine she'll need to work on getting her good leg strengthened and working out her balance. I'm not worried, though. She's very peppy and alert. And we all know that a bird can live a good life with one leg.
I'll need to keep an eye on her to ensure that she doesn't develop sores since she is applying some pressure to the foot.

I took her out to band her and examined it fairly quickly. She was quite stressed, so I put her back. I was able to determine that it's definitely healed -- not dangling. It's either fixed in that position or very stiff.

I'll examine her more extensively later to see whether that toe is fixed or whether there's still a joint there. If there's still a joint, it may simply be a matter of wrapping it in a manner that gradually stretches the ligaments and other structures. Essentially, stretching her closed foot into an "open" position.

My only concern is that this may make her more prone to getting caught up. I'm going to start working with her daily to tame her, as she will need regular help with that foot by way of nail trimming, along with any physical therapy measures that we can figure out for her.

Has anyone ever seen this particular injury/deformity in a baby?

Sydney is in the middle.

[MiaCarter]

I just observed her for a few minutes and it seems she can stand normally on the wall of the baby catcher (about 1/4 inch wide).

So it doesn't appear to be fixed; there is still a joint there.
She just can't control that toe, so it looks like there's something wrong with the tendons. It could just be that the tendon hasn't healed fully. (And it may never, as tendons behave a bit like a stretched rubber band when you cut it. It retracts up.)

I guess we'll see. Not too optimistic, as injuries that occur as they're growing have a bad prognosis for correction. But that also means she'll adapt like a champ, because she doesn't know anything else. She'll be okay with only one good leg. We'll still love her.

Goodness, part of me is glad I didn't spot this earlier.
I would have been positively insane with worry, but there would have been nothing I could have done to fix it.

[Rox]

Mia, I have a canary whose foot was similar when he fledged and now, 9 months later, he is still a happy chappy in the aviary. They adapt incredibly well with foot deformities

You just need to keep an eye on the toenail length, as the nails don't get a chance to get filed down naturally

This is Gympie

[Jen]

MiaCarter
My only experience is with my two finches that came to me as rescues...one is Ziggy, one legged Spice finch and Peg-ee, one legged Zebra finch. Like you mentioned, they adapt very well to their physical imperfections...hopefully your little fella' will heal, but if not, I'm sure he'll learn to compensate and thrive. Good luck!

[lovezebs]

MiaCarter
I thought something might be wrong, when I heared about this baby standing in the nest.

They do adapt. I also have a Gimpy (Society) and Zazu (Zebra), both of whom have messed up feet. They both do very well.

~Elana~

[MiaCarter]

Thanks for sharing photos, lovezebs and Rox!

That helps knowing that your guys have very similar deformities and they're doing well.

My main concern is that she'll get the toes caught up, since she obviously doesn't control them very well.
Do your guys have problems with getting caught up?

On her first day out of the nest today, I saw her on the floor, on top of the nest and other spots where she'd be apt to get caught up and she did well. So hopefully she'll learn how to use the foot in a way that doesn't make her prone to getting caught up.
I'll definitely keep her nails nicely trimmed to help minimize the risk.

Also, do your guys with gimpy feet develop sores?
I've had a few parrots with similar foot deformities and they were very prone to sores since they were consistently putting pressure on areas that weren't designed to support pressure.
But hookbills use their feet very differently from a finch, so curious as to whether that will apply.

She's very peppy and happy, constantly chirping so hopefully she'll have a good life.
It breaks my heart to think of a tiny baby with an injured foot. I feel so bad she had to endure that early on in life.
Thank goodness her parents didn't reject her. I just love this couple, Avery and Clara. They really are great parents and great birds in general.

[lovezebs]

MiaCarter
My two guys have never had any problems with foot sores so far. I was concerned with my two because they are both males, and I'd thought that they might have problems mating, but no such thing. I've seen both of them mate without any apparent difficulty.

~Elana~

[steve]

Hi All

A stray cat managed to scratch one of my Canaries feet, it bled for awhile and then went completely lame. I feel sorry for it but it is coping. It only uses one leg to perch and get around. It's mate is on eggs so it must be ok. By the way my own cat is scared of birds and will only chase and catch insects, it caught a mouse once but did not know what to do with it.

Steve

[Rox]

MiaCarter I haven't seen any foot sores. You honestly would never guess he has a funny foot when you watch him move around. He definitely doesn't know that he is 'different'

[MiaCarter]

Rox -- Thanks!
Your little canary is just so lovely! Is he still all pretty grey like that photo? Or was that a transitionary look?

@steve -- The lameness is concerning. Can you offer antibiotics?
Cat scratches have a very high rate of infection. Though the bleeding would help flush out some of the bacteria, it takes very little to establish an infection.

[steve]

Mia

The foot seems as if it has healed, the wound anyway but it cannot move the foot at all, perhaps the scratch damaged the tendon?

Steve

[MiaCarter]

steve -- That was my thought too - that the tendon could be damaged. Unfortunately, tendons can take a long time to heal and they don't always heal properly.
Cutting a tendon is like cutting a stretched elastic band; it's under tension and when cut, it retracts a bit, making it difficult for the two ends to find each other and connect again.

Another thought would be that perhaps there's an infection and/or inflammation that's making it painful to move. (Which could persist even after a flesh wound resolves and heals.)
So i would still administer antibiotics if there's any sign of redness or inflammation.
If there's no redness or inflammation, then it's just a waiting game to see if she regains movement and function.
A good exam may be able to reveal whether she has movement. If so, that would be a good prognosis of regaining function eventually.

[debbie276]

Sounds like slip claw to me

http://www.yccuk.com/briankeenan/cc8.html
Slipped claw.

Slipped claw describes the condition where the back toe curls under the foot.
My practice is to position the rear toe backwards, using the leg as a splint. Because young birds feet are very flexible this manipulation does not harm the bird, but the longer the injury is untreated, the harder it will be to cure.

Cut a thin length of low-impact masking tape about � inch wide, and wrap this around the base of the toe, and tie the toe back, against the leg in a position which is comfortable to the bird, without being too loose. Do not foul the joints of the toe, and leave the toe-nail free.

Again, place the bird in a single cage without any perching, with a thick layer of sawdust or wood shavings to act as a cushion.

The bird may nibble away at the masking tape, and an eye should be kept that it is not removed, if so, it should be replaced immediately, as only time will cure slipped claw. After a couple of weeks, the tape can be removed, and the toe will generally remain in its proper position. By simply snipping the tape and providing regular baths, the bird will quickly remove the tape, without causing itself any damage or irritation.

I have used this method in the past using wool and other soft materials, but masking tape works just as well, and is much easier to apply.

Whilst the above cures are effective, a high incidence of these ailments indicates a failing in your management methods, or points to a hereditary weakness in your birds feet. If this is so, remove these birds from your breeding team, to reduce occurrences in future generations.

Repairing slip toe, http://canarytales.blogspot.com/2009/05 ... -claw.html

[steve]

Mia We have a good Avian Vet quite close, I am going to have it looked at.

Steve

[MiaCarter]

debbie276 --- It's definitely similar. And I think we may be able to use the same treatment.

I got a good look at it just a few minutes ago.

It's definitely a healed break right at or near the joint of that back toe. There's a fairly noticeable bump of scar tissue and very little movement.

In a normal toe, the range of motion relative to the leg is probably quite close to 180 degrees -- the toe could be pressed against the leg and then moved forward to touch the "palm" of the foot and the other toes.

Here's a drawing:


She has maybe 20-30 degree range of motion. Very stiff.
So I'm not sure how much potential for stretching she'll have.
In any event, I'll need to wait a few weeks to ensure that it's fully healed before I attempt anything. I don't want to re-injure it before the bone has fully formed.

She has no apparent control over the toe. So I'm not sure whether it's better to leave it as-is. I'll need to consult my vet on this one, I think.